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Topic: Is it a mean nickname? (Read 13178 times)

Speaking of odd men's names, there was Marion Morrison, who wasn't particularly effeminate.

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My cousin's memoir of love and loneliness while raising a child with multiple disabilities will be out on Amazon soon! Know the Night, by Maria Mutch, has been called "full of hope, light, and companionship for surviving the small hours of the night."

Being seen as prissy is often considered a serious moral failing in males. It's also used as a slur against homosexuals quite often. Even beyond the possible offense to anyone who overheard it (and I can definitely see where someone might be offended you yelled it out) as M ages up he's going to be socialized into these sort of beliefs if he goes to school or attends activities with other children (gender roles are a constant in society), which might lead to self-esteem issues (because of feeling he's not the "right" type of boy since the family calls him that and he trusts them so they must be calling him that for a reason).

I mean, the woman was out of line. A polite "Hi. I overheard you calling that little boy Prissy Boy and thought you might want to know that prissy is often used as a slur by people who are homophobic." is one thing. What the woman did was another. But she still had a legitimate point.

« Last Edit: August 08, 2010, 08:21:21 AM by noexitwounds »

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Did you know that cats can make one thousand different sounds and dogs can only make ten? Cats, man. Not to be trusted. -- Jake Jensen, The Losers

Nicknames can start out logically, but in later years seem rather silly.

Case in point: X-DH had an Uncle Bill (UB for short). UB had a grandson who was named after him. UB became "Big Bill" and grandson became "Little Bill" (LB for short).

By the time LB grew up, the monikers didn't make sense because UB was 5'6" and 150 lbs. dripping wet, and LB was over 6' tall and weighed well over 250 lbs! For family, it was habit, but I have to say that coming into the family years after the names were adopted gave me a different POV.

Nicknames can start out logically, but in later years seem rather silly.

Case in point: X-DH had an Uncle Bill (UB for short). UB had a grandson who was named after him. UB became "Big Bill" and grandson became "Little Bill" (LB for short).

By the time LB grew up, the monikers didn't make sense because UB was 5'6" and 150 lbs. dripping wet, and LB was over 6' tall and weighed well over 250 lbs! For family, it was habit, but I have to say that coming into the family years after the names were adopted gave me a different POV.

My Dad was Little Harvey for years and he hated it with a purple passion. We moved when I was 5 and sis was in PK. There was another girl younger than sis with the same name. Her parents wanted to use big and little to distinguish between them- Dad said no way. They ended up going by First and 2nd names for a while. Then we dropped it and rarely was there confusion because they were 2 different people and it was pretty obvious from the conversation who was who.

They started calling J little (first name) because he is named for his grandfather. His grandmother (dad's sister) put a stop to that also. (I not sure but I think Aunt was little firstname and then switched to middle name later)

My parents made a point of not nameing us after anyone because of the grief they got for their names.

I have lived in many different areas of North America. Two, very different, places have siblings calling their sisters "Sissy". At least one other area that I lived this would be a major insult. Words mean different things to different people. I always thought prissy to mean uptight and meticulous. But, I would never assume that it means that to everyone, too much experience tells me that the English language is much to flexible for that

I have lived in many different areas of North America. Two, very different, places have siblings calling their sisters "Sissy". At least one other area that I lived this would be a major insult. Words mean different things to different people. I always thought prissy to mean uptight and meticulous. But, I would never assume that it means that to everyone, too much experience tells me that the English language is much to flexible for that

I called my older sister 'Sissy' up until I started to read at 4, and then found out that 'sissy' was an insult. She became 'Sister' after that, and still sometimes signs her emails that way.

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~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Common sense is not a gift, but a curse. Because thenyou have to deal with all the people who don't have it. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I think "Sissy" gets a pass, only because it's only used with sisters, and as an actual dimunitive for Sister, now.

Decades ago, it was a common term of endearment in the South for younger relatives, much like the use of "auntie." It drove me nuts when my DH's grandmother called DD "sissy" but then I just saw it a charming old-fashioned thing.

I think it's pretty easily understood when someone is using "sissy" to imply a weakling or cowardly person, as opposed to "Sissy" as a form of "Sister."

I have a very fond memory of younger DD, around age 4, crying in her sleep, and sleep talking. She said, "Dissy (sissy) won't play with me."

Sissy (or Cissy, as the girl on "Family Affair" spelled it -- I think she was a Catherine) is an OK nickname for a girl. Sissy Spacek (christened Mary Elizabeth) doesn't seem to have a problem with it -- and she's 60. It's sort of the female equivalent of Bubba (brother). But for a guy -- no.

As for the OP's nephew, Prissy Boy is one of those nicknames that has outgrown its use, IMO. It might have been cute when he was a toddler, but it's time to retire it, or change it to PB. (If his friends overhear family calling him PB, and they ask, he can always tell them it's short for Peanut Butter.)

Bagman has a nephew named Matthew. His childhood nickname was Fergie. Matthew evolved into Massey, someone made the connection to Massey-Ferguson (tractor makers), and Fergie evolved from that. I'm not sure exactly when the family stopped calling him Fergie, but he's been Matt as long as I've known him.

He also has an old friend nicknamed Chub. He was a junior and inherited the nickname from his dad, who *was* chubby. Chub the Younger never has been. He was on the gymnastics team in high school and may be the only gymnast in the history of the sport called Chub! (Then again, only those who knew him back in the day -- like Bagman -- still call him that.)

DH's cousin was nicknamed "Little Joe" as his dad was Joe senior. Decades later, Joe Sr. had passed away, Little Joe had done very well for himself with several franchise restaurants and was still called..."Little Joe" by the rest of the family.